1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices useful for immobilizing parts of the body. More particularly, the present invention relates to a rigid cast which may be removed and subsequently replaced, useful for immobilizing or compressing parts of the body, and which conforms to the shape of said body parts, and which also overcomes obstacles present with the use of rigid casts which, subsequent to removal, are not replaceable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rigid casts and the like of the type used to prevent the mobility of, or to apply desired compression to, injured or otherwise damaged parts of the body, or combinations of these, have been known and used for centuries. Such rigid devices have been applied to the injured body part in recent times in a series of steps which permit wrapping of the injured limb or other body part with a flexible bandage or the like, followed by the application of a medium, such as plaster of paris, fiberglass, etc., which subsequently hardens on the surface to produce a rigid product which effectively prevents mobility and may also apply a degree of compression to the injured part.
Rigid casts of the prior art describe a plurality of improvements thereto, however, such casts thus described, when removed for any purpose, are not reuseable on the injured limb, and must be replaced if removed by repeating the application process professionally at considerable time and expense and varying degrees of risk in attaining the original shape of the prior cast and in duplicating the degree of compression of said cast.
While supports for injured limbs are described in the prior art, such as traction bands and the like, and while these are removable and replaceable at will, such devices are not rigid and do not generally supply the required support for the proper healing of broken or more severely damaged parts of the body. U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,930 to Brown describes a necessarily flexible and removable traction band of this type with such limited use, which is fabricated from a multi-ply fabric supplying the required tension. U.S. Pat. No. 1,980,486 to King et al. describes a device secured to the patient's foot with straps, however, the teachings set forth therein offer no substantial means of support to a broken or more severely damaged limb. U.S. Pat. No. 2,875,752 to Lovich describes an improvement relating to a foot support for a rigid, though not removeable and replaceable, cast, having similar function to that of Silverman in U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,402. Of the prior art references available, none are found to overcome the burdens of removing and easily replacing a rigid cast which has been molded specifically to conform to the contour of an injured body part.